724 
THE TROPICAL AQRIOULTURIBT. 
[April i, 1891, 
The Silvee Pool in New York.— A telegram from 
New York iu The Timea auiionnces the brealc-dowu 
of the American Silver Pool. It : By the defeat 
of the Prae Coinage Bill, the gr at silver specalatiou 
in Wall Street has ended. MiLious were lost in the 
“ deal.” Last July, when it was thought that tuo 
Bill providing for the purchase by tho Government 
of 4,600,000 ounces of silver a month wou'd pass, 
pools were made up to buybulliou in expectation of 
a great auvanco. Tho conclusion was cori>ct. When 
the pools began operations, silver was a dollar an 
ounce. On the passage of the Bill, it jumped to 1 
dol. 21j: cents. To make the silver m a dol ar worth 
a dollar in gold it would have to be quo'ed 1 dol, 
29 cents. The men in the pool expected the ris- to 
go to 1 dol. 25 cents, as the law was to go luto effect 
iu August. The calculated production I'f I lift Americ iU 
mines for tho ensuing year would be 05,000,000 ouece-. 
Of this, the Gov«inmeat would be r quired to 
purchase 54,000,000 ounces. The arts would use 
9,000.000 ounces, and tho surplus was reckoned at 
2,000 000 ounces. Amerma had previously been a heavy 
exporter. The pools conducted their negodations en- 
tirely u New York. — //. and C'. P. b 27th. 
Wood in Fire. — Wood cannot be rendered in- 
combustible, or more strictly speaking, non-alterabla 
by heat ; but its non inflammability may, to a 
considerable extent bo insured, bo as to prevent 
buildings from a limited and temporary lire at 
any rate until assistance arrives. It is, however, 
hopeless to expect a building encumbeivd with 
inflammable substances to pass through such a test 
uninjured. The methods of preserving wood against 
fire are of two kinds; the injections of saline solatio.o 
and tho application of a paint or coating. The 
former appears but little practical; and, indeed, 
short of proof to the contrary, it must be con- 
sidered dangerous in the case of wood of large 
dimensions. This system is, however, applicable 
to small pieces of wood. Of all the subsiaiioes 
recommended, a concentrated solution of phosphate 
of ammonia is undoubtedly the best, the use ol 
this substance, notwithstanding its high price 
possessing such great advantages that it should 
be employed in all cases where expense is no 
objeot. In the majority of oases, however, coating 
with brush is the only practical solution of the 
question, and the Ghent professors recoairnend as 
the substance suitable for use iuthis manner, cyanide 
of potassium and asbesios paint . — Frojessers Bondi 
and Denny, of Ghent University. — Indian Knyincer. 
Ferhoid, a New Artificial Stone,— Uader this 
title Mr. Hermnn Poole describe^ in the Journal of 
the Association of Enyineeriny Societies a new arti- 
ficial stone, which is a compound, partly chemical 
and partly mechanical, of iron, sulphur, and silicon 
with more or less foreign matter. It is mainly a 
super saturated solution of iron in the sulphur witli 
tho silica acting as a binder and hardener. Its 
normal colour is a dark slate, varying somewhat 
with the manner in which it is dressed, but the 
colour can be somewhat modified by tho inlreduo- 
tion of pigments. Suoceesful imitations of various 
coloured brick and sa'idstone have been made. It 
is about tlie hardness of ordinary hluestone, and 
can be worked by the usual stone-cutting tools 
turned in a lathe, or planed. The tenEile strength 
is from 0501b to 1, 2001b. per square iiicli and under 
compression it endures from 9,00011) to 12,000. b. 
Its speoilio gravity is about 2'0. It molts at about 
.TOO deg. F. very slowly. It does not delerionite 
under exposure to the weather. As it can be molted | 
and moulded, it is applicable to a great varn ty cf 
uses to which Slone cannot be put, and particularly 
80 for large oastinge, such as pipes for sewage, &c. 
Architectural forms can bo very conveniently made 
from it in position if needed. For culwris and ! 
bridge foundations tho perfect smoothness of which 
tho surface is suacoptiblo is advantageous in looSen- | 
ing water friction.-— //o/foii l''.iifiineer. 
New Nickel Mines. — It is reported that quite an 
exltaoro inary discovery of nickel has been made 
quite reeemly in Nevada. Among those best informed 
it is spoken of as “ a wonderful development,” und 
this representation is support'd by the exhibit of 
masses of ore. It is claimed that the nickel is found 
in deposits almost limitless and of such richness 
that even what is termed the lowest grade yields b to 
12 per cent, of pure metal. Q lantities aggregating hun- 
dreds of tons are in sight, which give by analysis from 
20 to 35'4 per ioat.|of ingot metal . — American Mail. 
•ooLiEs AND Indian Tea. — So far as the Ujaimiau’s 
address to the Indian Itia Association in Calcutta 
Went to siiow, the coolie difficulty is becoming more 
pre,seing than ever to tea plantations. Not only 
has the increase of acreage under cultivation 
tended to send up the price of labour, but the 
new railway and mining enterprises in the Listrict 
of Chota Nagpur have diverted a large number of 
coolies. In Kanchi and Puruiia as much asRi50 
a head has been offered for coolies. The District 
of Gnijam has turned out to bo a failure as a 
recruiting ground. There has however been a 
constant end rapid increase in the total acreage 
under tea.-Jl/, Mail, March 9, 
Inciieasing Ooncumption of Tea, Coffee and 
Cocoa. — b.roug evidence of the advance of tno “ wave 
of temperance ” and the general increase in the con- 
sump ion of non-alcoholic diiuks of late years, is given 
M a carefully-co'iipilei table just prepared by Sir 
Henry Becir. The figures refer to tea, coffee and 
C- Coa, an t they em trace a psri-.d of fifty years— ih.tt 
is from 1840 to lt?90 — being the average consumption 
per he.rd of the population as shown for each year 
tiuce 1840. The most remarkable progress is to be 
noted iu the consump ion of tea. In 1840 the tea 
consumed was 132 lb. iier head, in 1850 it was 
I SO lb., in 1860 2 67 lb., in 1870 3 81 ib., in 1880 
4 57 lb. and in 1890 5'07 lb. In 1840 the population 
Was 26,467,026 and iu 1890 38.227,321. In respect to 
coffee, til couBamp'.ion was m 1840 l'U8 lb, per head 
of he popnla'ion, ui 1850 it wa-i 113 lb., in 1860 
i'23 lb., iu 1870 -98 lb., in 1880 •92lb., and in 1890 
•751b. Of cocoa the average cousumpiion per bead of 
the population was in 1840 'OSio., in 1850 •111b,, in 
1860 'll lb., in 1870 '20 lo., iu 1880 30 lb,, and in 1890 
•531b. Of iheso three a'ticle.s toge her, their total 
consumption per liead <4 the popu.ation was iu 1840 
2'38 lb., and in 1890 6'35 lb. The chief augmentation 
has been iu tea, whuh has va.stly advanced in po- 
pularity in this country. 
The Alligator as a Commercial Commodity. — 
Besi ies the bides of the alligator, of which 60,000 
or GO.UOO are annually utilised in the United States 
there are other oommeicial pro ucts obtained. The' 
teeth, which are round, white, and conioai, and 
as long as two joints of an average finger, are 
mounted with gold or silver, and used for jewellery, 
trinkets, and lor teething babies to play with. 
They are also carved into a variety of forms such 
as whistles, buttons, and cane handles. This in- 
du try is carried on principally in Florida. Among 
Cliincse druggists there is a great demand for 
.alligators’ tc'cth, which are said to be powdered and 
alminisloied as a remedy. As much as a dollar 
apiece is paid by them for fine teeth. All the 
teeih of the alligator are of the class of conical 
tusks, vfith no cutting or grinding apparatus, 
and lienee the animal is forced to feed chit fly on 
carrion, wiiioh is ready prepared for his digtsiion, 
O'her commercial products of the alligator are the 
oil and musk pods. The tail of an alligator cf 
twelve feet in length, on boding, furnishes from 
fifty to seventy pints of excellent oil, which, in 
Bi axil, is used for lighting and in medicine. Tho 
oil has has been recommended for the cure of 
quite a variety of diseases. It has a high repu- 
tation among the swampers as a remedy for rheu- 
matism, being givesn both inwardly and outwardly .— 
Public Opinion, 
